New Turkish Alcohol Laws Could Pull The Plug On Istanbul's Nightlife

In the Siirci bar in a
backstreet of Istanbul's bustling Beyoglu district, a few patrons
are enjoying a cold beer. Flyers for LBGT rights and
environmentalist demonstrations are scattered on a small table
with feminist magazines stacked alongside.

"Places like ours do not fit in the AKP's vision of Istanbul,"
says manager Haydar Tas of the party that has governed Turkey for
the last decade. "And restrictions on alcohol consumption will
make things harder for us."

In a surprise move last week, the Turkish parliament rushed
through strict legislation that, once approved by President
Abdullah Gül, will curb alcohol sales and drinking in Turkey.

The planned regulations would prohibit retail sales between 10pm
and 6am, ban all alcohol advertising and promotion, and stop new
shops and bars from opening within 100m of schools and mosques.

As is already the case with smoking, the depiction of alcohol
consumption in films and on television would be blurred.

Retailers are worried about the likely impact on business.

"I make most sales after 10pm, and I sell mostly beer and wine,"
says shopowner Rafi Siropyan, 35. "Our family has been running
this shop for 40 years, but I am afraid that I might have to look
into alternatives."

Turkey is no stranger to teetotal campaigns or clampdowns on
booze. In the Ottoman era, some sultans imposed similar
restrictions. But alcohol consumption has always been a part of
food culture in Turkey, a country whose population is 99% Muslim.

Members of the opposition Republican People's party (CHP)
compared AK party MPs who drafted the bill to Ottoman sultan
Murat VI, who was known for his puritanical stance on worldly
pleasures such as drinking and smoking. He is said to have
patrolled Istanbul's streets incognito in order to root out
offenders.

"If Turkey really is a secular state, then the government should
not have the right to tell me when and where to drink alcohol,"
says Seref Acehan, 69, a master butcher, and Beyoglu resident.
"As long as I don't harm others, drinking is a matter of my own
personal freedom."

Not everyone agrees. A government supporter, Veli Köseoglu, 56,
thinks that the bill does not go far enough: "If people are
unable to buy alcohol after 10pm, they will simply stock up
beforehand. What kind of restriction is this supposed to be?"

He lives in Ortaköy, a neighbourhood known for its lively bar
scene.

"On weekends, people get drunk in the streets, they swear and
start fights. It makes me uncomfortable. In my opinion, drinking
should be banned in all public places such as buses or parks."

The government argues that the crackdown is only aimed at
improving public health and protecting children. It insists that
it does not amount to a ban.

"The bill doesn't ban alcohol consumption, it simply regulates
it", AK party MP Nursuna Memecan told the Guardian. "People in
Turkey have been scared into seeing religious fundamentalism
around every street corner. It is important to protect young
people from harmful substances."

Critics point out that such concerns are hardly justified: at
only 1.5 litres a year Turkey has the lowest per capita alcohol
consumption rate in Europe, and 83% of the population does not
touch alcohol at all.

Some fear that the proposed law is a further step towards
Islamisation of the country. Speaking at an AK party meeting this
week, prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan underlined that
religion commanded "what was right".

"They use public health concerns as a thinly veiled excuse to
impose their own lifestyle on everyone in Turkey," said one
45-year-old cornershop owner, asking not to be named for fear of
repercussions. "If things continue like this, they will soon pass
laws that regulate how people should dress."

Others are worried about mounting authoritarianism in Turkey.

"Our government interferes in everything: they tell us how many
children to have, how much salt we should put in our food, what
kind of bread to eat and what to drink," Acehan said.

"Many European countries might have similar alcohol restrictions,
but they have full democratic rights. They discuss laws before
they are passed. I wish we would have this kind of mutual
understanding in Turkey."

Haydar Tas is convinced that the drink curbs are aimed at
appeasing conservative Muslim voters: "With so many more
important problems to solve, there really is no need for alcohol
restrictions in Turkey. If they are so concerned about freedom of
religion, why don't they solve the headscarf issue instead of
curtailing other people's choices?"

Sitting in his small bar in Beyoglu, he does not have much hope
that things will change for the better.

"The AKP government wants to control what Beyoglu looks like, and
who can be here. In the future, there will be no room for
alternative places like ours. All leftist opposition groups,
associations and cultural spaces will be rooted out, and the only
place to get a drink will be expensive luxury hotels and
restaurants. It will be the end of Beyoglu as we know it."